Sotheby's to showcase Van Gogh, Kahlo masterpieces in Abu Dhabi

Sotheby's will showcase masterworks of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Frida Kahlo, Edvard Munch, René Magritte and Camille Pissaro in Abu Dhabi from October 1.

The two-day exhibition at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation will celebrate six of the most revered names in art history, with the artwork valued together at $150 million.

It is touted as the first public exhibition of Fine Art ever staged by Sotheby’s in Abu Dhabi, and the most valuable exhibition ever staged in the region.

None of the works to be exhibited have ever been shown in the Middle East before, and three of the six have not been seen in public for more than half a century.

The striking landscape by Edvard Munch, for instance, comes to auction from the collection of Leonard A. Lauder,  one of greatest collectors and benefactors of the arts in America, while the van Gogh and Gauguin paintings hung until recently in the Chicago home of Cindy and Jay Pritzker, whose impact on the cultural life of their home city is immense, and whose renowned prize for architecture has honoured many of the world’s leading architects, including Jean Nouvel, designer of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Frank Gehry, architect of the new Abu Dhabi arm of the Guggenheim.

Also exhibited will be a striking painting by René Magritte from the collection of Matthew and Kay Bucksbaum, leading American philanthropists known for their contributions to the arts, education and civic life.

Following the exhibition in Abu Dhabi, they will travel to London and Paris before returning to New York, where they will be offered in a hotly anticipated season of auctions during the week of November 17, marking the opening of Sotheby’s new headquarters in the historic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue.